(Vatican Radio) As is customary on a papal journey, Pope Francis has sent telegrams to the Head of State of every country his plane flies over during his flight from Manila to Rome. For the second time in history, this includes the People’s Republic of China. He assures the Chinese President, Xi Jinping of his prayers for the people of China, and invoked blessings of “harmony and prosperity.”
The Holy Father’s telegram to Italy was addressed to Senator Pietro Grasso, who became Acting President of Italy on 14 January 2015, upon the resignation of President Giorgio Napolitano.
The full text of all the telegrams are below, in their original languages
Philippines – 19 January 2015
HIS EXCELLENCY BENIGNO AQUINO
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
MANILA
AS I DEPART FROM THE PHILIPPINES, I EXTEND TO YOU, THE GOVERNMENT AND ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE NATION MY HEARTFELT GRATITUDE FOR YOUR WARM WELCOME AND EVERY KINDNESS SHOWN TO ME DURING MY VISIT. I RENEW TO YOUR EXCELLENCY AND THE ENTIRE COUNTRY THE ASSURANCE OF MY PRAYERS FOR PEACE AND PROSPERITY.
FRANCISCUS PP
China– 19 January 2015
HIS EXCELLENCY XI JINPING
PRESIDENT OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
BEIJING
I SEND CORDIAL GREETINGS TO YOUR EXCELLENCY AS I FLY OVER THE COUNTRY ON MY WAY FROM THE PHILIPPINES TO THE VATICAN. I ASSURE YOU OF MY PRAYERS FOR YOU AND ALL THE PEOPLE OF CHINA, INVOKING UPON YOU ABUNDANT BLESSINGS OF HARMONY AND PROSPERITY.
FRANCISCUS PP
Mongolia – 19 January 2015
HIS EXCELLENCY TSAKHIAGIIN ELBEGDORJ
PRESIDENT OF MONGOLIA
ULAANBAATAR
I SEND CORDIAL GREETINGS TO YOUR EXCELLENCY AS I FLY OVER THE COUNTRY ON MY WAY FROM THE PHILIPPINES TO THE VATICAN. I ASSURE YOU OF MY PRAYERS FOR YOU AND ALL THE PEOPLE OF MONGOLIA, INVOKING UPON YOU ABUNDANT BLESSINGS OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY.
FRANCISCUS PP
Russia – 19 January 2015
HIS EXCELLENCY VLADIMIR VLADIMIROVICH PUTIN
PRESIDENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
MOSCOW
I SEND CORDIAL GREETINGS TO YOUR EXCELLENCY AS I FLY OVER THE COUNTRY ON MY WAY FROM THE PHILIPPINES TO THE VATICAN. I ASSURE YOU OF MY PRAYERS FOR YOU AND ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION, INVOKING UPON YOU GOD’S BLESSINGS OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY.
FRANCISCUS PP
Belarus – 19 January 2015
HIS EXCELLENCY ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS
MINSK
I SEND CORDIAL GREETINGS TO YOUR EXCELLENCY AS I FLY OVER THE COUNTRY ON MY WAY FROM THE PHILIPPINES TO THE VATICAN. I ASSURE YOU OF MY PRAYERS FOR YOU AND ALL THE PEOPLE OF BELARUS, INVOKING UPON YOU GOD’S BLESSINGS OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY.
FRANCISCUS PP
Poland – 19 January 2015
HIS EXCELLENCY BRONISLAW KOMOROWSKI
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND
WARSAW
I SEND CORDIAL GREETINGS TO YOUR EXCELLENCY AS I FLY OVER THE COUNTRY ON MY WAY FROM THE PHILIPPINES TO THE VATICAN. I ASSURE YOU OF MY PRAYERS FOR YOU AND THE BELOVED PEOPLE OF POLAND, AND I INVOKE UPON ALL OF YOU THE LORD’S BLESSINGS OF PEACE, JOY AND PROSPERITY.
FRANCISCUS PP
Czech Republic – 19 January 2015
HIS EXCELLENCY MILOŠ ZEMAN
PRESIDENT OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC
PRAGUE
I SEND CORDIAL GREETINGS TO YOUR EXCELLENCY AS I FLY OVER THE COUNTRY ON MY WAY FROM THE PHILIPPINES TO THE VATICAN. I ASSURE YOU OF MY PRAYERS FOR YOU AND THE PEOPLE OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC, INVOKING UPON ALL OF YOU GOD’S BLESSINGS OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY.
FRANCISCUS PP
Slovakia – 19 January 2015
HIS EXCELLENCY ANDREJ KISKA
PRESIDENT OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC
BRATISLAVA
I SEND CORDIAL GREETINGS TO YOUR EXCELLENCY AS I FLY OVER THE COUNTRY ON MY WAY FROM THE PHILIPPINES TO THE VATICAN. I ASSURE YOU OF MY PRAYERS FOR YOU AND THE PEOPLE OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC, INVOKING UPON ALL OF YOU GOD’S BLESSINGS OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY.
FRANCISCUS PP
Austria – 19 January 2015
HIS EXCELLENCY HEINZ FISCHER
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF AUSTRIA
VIENNA
I SEND CORDIAL GREETINGS TO YOUR EXCELLENCY AS I FLY OVER THE COUNTRY ON MY WAY FROM THE PHILIPPINES TO THE VATICAN. I ASSURE YOU OF MY PRAYERS FOR YOU AND ALL THE PEOPLE OF AUSTRIA, INVOKING UPON YOU ABUNDANT DIVINE BLESSINGS OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY.
FRANCISCUS PP
Slovenia – 19 January 2015
HIS EXCELLENCY BORUT PAHOR
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA
LJUBLJANA
I SEND CORDIAL GREETINGS TO YOUR EXCELLENCY AS I FLY OVER THE COUNTRY ON MY WAY FROM THE PHILIPPINES TO THE VATICAN. I ASSURE YOU OF MY PRAYERS FOR YOU AND ALL THE PEOPLE OF SLOVENIA, INVOKING UPON YOU GOD’S BLESSINGS OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY.
FRANCISCUS PP
Arrival in ITALY – 19 January 2015
A SUA ECCELLENZA
SEN. PIETRO GRASSO
PRESIDENTE SUPPLENTE DELLA REPUBBLICA ITALIANA
PALAZZO DEL QUIRINALE 00187 ROMA
AL RIENTRO DAL VIAGGIO APOSTOLICO IN SRI LANKA E FILIPPINE, DOVE HO POTUTO INCONTRARE NUMEROSI FEDELI E RAPPRESENTANTI DI QUELLE CARE POPOLAZIONI AMMIRANDONE IL FERVORE SPIRITUALE E CIVILE, ESPRIMO A LEI, SIGNOR PRESIDENTE, IL MIO CORDIALE SALUTO ED ASSICURO UN ORANTE RICORDO PER IL BENE E LA PROSPERITA’ DELL’INTERA NAZIONE ITALIANA, CHE DI CUORE BENEDICO
FRANCISCUS PP.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis left Manila on Monday morning, after a weeklong trip to Asia which took him to Sri Lanka and the Philippines. Hundreds of thousands of Filipinos lined the streets of Manila to catch a final glimpse of the Holy Father as he went to the airport.
Pope Francis drew over 6 million to his final Mass in Manila’s Luneta Park on Sunday, the largest crowd for a Papal event in history.
At a press conference after the Pope’s departure, the Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle said everyone in the Philippines was “overwhelmed right now with thanksgiving and gratitude to God” for the trip, and were “challenged” by Pope Francis to face problems such as inequality in the country.
Listen to excerpts from the Press Conference in Manila after the departure of Pope Francis:
“The priest, religious, the lay, all of us got the message clearly,” said Cardinal Tagle. “We will call on everyone to put this message into action.”
He added that the papal message on bridging the gap between the rich and poor is “not just for Christians but for all.”
Cardinal Tagle also said Pope Francis is challenging the culture to not blindly accept every novelty.
“I think the Holy Father is also inviting us to be discerning and to be critical,” he said.
“Not everything new is necessarily good. Here I think the Christian spirituality of discernment can be handy,” continued the Cardinal. “How do we immerse ourselves in the World of God, in prayer, in the teachings of the Church, and with that deep resource How do you address the changes in the world?”
Cardinal Tagle said when speaking privately with Pope Francis, the Holy Father said one solid foundation is popular religiosity.
“He said it is the simple faith that makes people survive the changes in society,” said Cardinal Tagle.
Bishop Mylo Vergara, the head of the Communications Committee of the Philippines Bishops Conference, said the trip was full of surprises.
“You have witnessed how he did not read the prepared homilies,” Bishop Vergara said, calling it the “homily of the heart”. He also mentioned the events on Saturday in Tacloban, as a Tropical Storm approached the area.
“I think it is also a first that he wore a raincoat,” he said.
It was also confirmed at the press conference that the Bishops have invited Pope Francis to return to the Philippines next year for the International Eucharistic Congress in Cebu.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) At the conclusion of Pope Francis’s three day visit to the Philippines, the head of the Holy See press office, Fr Federico Lombardi briefed journalists about the impact of this papal visit to Asia. He also spoke to our correspondent in Manila, Sean-Patrick Lovett, about highlights of the visit and about the expectations of the people who turned out in such huge numbers to take part in the papal events…..
Listen:
The first aspect that Fr Lombardi highlights is the huge numbers of people who came to see and listen to the Pope. There was, he says, “a great expectation and a great desire to be in his presence” which also indicates a great level of religious feeling among the people of the Philippines.
Secondly, he says, the Pope has announced the Gospel in a way which is very attentive to the sensitivities of the local people, with a strong emphasis on tears and weeping “which is something people here understand well”. But Pope Francis tells them that they must also go beyond emotion to a true conversion and then translate that conversion into action, just as he explained to the young people in Manila they must “feel, think, and do”.
Fr Lombardi also speaks of the scandalous inequality in the Philippines which, in the Pope’s view, is “something that must be approached with decision”. For Pope Francis, he says, the poor are the centre of the Gospel and he desires that the Church may convert to this vision in order to help society to change. The trip, he says, has been an incredible experience of the possibilities for change but also a challenge to the Church and its people…
Asked about the effect that the journey has had on the Pope, Fr Lombardi replies that Pope Francis is a person who is very attentive to dialogue and the need to receive as well as to give. He notes how Bergoglio understood from the moment of his election that he had to come to Asia which had not experienced a major papal visit for two decades. In his trip to three different Asian nations, Fr Lombardi says, the Pope has experienced “the great expectations” of the people and understood the need to focus on evangelisation. While there has been an immense attention of the people to the Pope’s words, Fr Lombardi concludes with the wish that the ruling classes have also taken his message to heart as well….
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis celebrated Mass Sunday in Manila’s Luneta Park for enthusiastic crowds who had braved inclement weather to turn out to see their beloved Pope. The head of Vatican Radio’s English Service, Seàn-Patrick Lovett, is traveling with the Pope and sent this report:
Listen to the report by Seàn-Patrick Lovett:
So? How many people were there at Pope Francis’ final Mass in Manila’s Luneta Park? According to the Metro Manila Development Authority, or local traffic department, there were 2.5 million along the route from the Nunciature alone, even before you reach the park which can hold another 1.5 million, give or take a few hundred thousand. You do the math.
But, quite frankly – who cares?
It never was a question of quantity so much as quality. And quality there was, in abundance. Especially if you take into consideration the fact it rained the whole day and that many people spent 24 hours in the open air to ensure they found a place at an event that was as much historical as it was liturgical. And what to say about the piety, prayerfulness and devotion of all those millions? When last did you see that many heads bowed in meditation, or that many hands clasped in prayer, or hear that many voices raised in song?
Pope Francis saw. And he heard. And taking his cue from the day’s local Filipino feast of the Santo Niño, the Holy Child, he focussed his reflections during the Homily on the fact that we are all Children of God, all called to be part of God’s Family. The only time he went off-script was to insist: “This is sin: to forget we are God’s children”.
The Pope went on to provide a list of what he called the distractions of the Devil who tempts us with the promise of “ephemeral pleasures and superficial pastimes”, squandering our God-given gifts by “tinkering with gadgets” or spending our money on “gambling and drink”, forgetting to focus “on the things that really matter”. He also used the occasion to call for the protection of the Family against “insidious attacks and programs contrary to all that we hold true and sacred”. Referring to the Gospel reading from Mark Chapter 10, Pope Francis spoke of the way Jesus embraces children, saying that we too need “to see each child as a gift to be welcomed, cherished and protected. We need to care for our young people, not allowing them to be robbed of hope and condemned to life on the street”.
Finally, no report on this last public event of Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines would be complete without a reference to the music, to the massed choirs and orchestras comprising over 1,000 elements and representing the very best of the nation’s musical talent. This is one case where I sincerely invite you not to take my word for it – but to listen for yourself…
With the Pope in the Philippines – I’m Seàn-Patrick Lovett
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the Archbishop of Manila, thanked Pope Francis for his visit to the Philippines on Sunday. At the conclusion of Mass celebrated by Pope Francis for millions gathered in Manila’s Rizal Park, Cardinal Tagle said his fellow Filipinos would be praying for the Pope and would follow him “to the peripheries” as missionaries of Christ’s light. Pope Francis is due to leave the Philippines on Monday.
Listen to Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle’s words of thanksgiving at the conclusion of Mass at Rizal Park in Manila:
Below, please find the prepared text for Cardinal Tagle’s remarks:
Most Holy Father,
In the name of the Archdiocese of Manila, the people who worked tirelessly for your pastoral visit, and the Filipinos whom you have been strengthened in faith these past days, I once again say Thank You. I say “Maraming Salamat po” (Thank you very much) on behalf of the street children, the orphans, the widows, the homeless, the informal settlers, the laborers, the farmers, the fisher folk, the sick, the abandoned elderly, the families of missing persons, the victims of discrimination, violence, abuse, exploitation, human trafficking, the Filipino migrant workers and their families, the survivors of natural calamities and armed conflicts, the non-Christian Catholics, the followers of non-Christian religions, the promoters of peace especially in Mindanao and creation that groans. We say again, “Maraming salamat po, Santo Padre.”
You often end your encounters with people by saying, “I ask you to pray for me.” We promise to pray for you. But we want to assure you that Jesus prays for you. Jesus himself declared to Peter, “I have prayed for you that you own faith may not fail.” (Luke 22:32). Your Holiness, you are blessed. Jesus prays for you. We your beloved Filipinos unite ourselves with Jesus in praying for you to God the Father.
You arrived in the Philippines three days ago. Tomorrow you will go. Every Filipino wants to go with you – not to Rome – but to the peripheries, to the shanties, to prison cells, to hospitals, to the world of politics, finance, arts, sciences, culture, education, and social communications. We will go to these worlds to bring the light of Jesus, Jesus who is the center of your pastoral visit and the cornerstone of the Church. We will go where the Light of Jesus is needed. Here in Luneta, the Qurino Grandstand, where heroes are revered, newly elected presidents take office and popes meet the Filipino faithful, here in a place of new beginnings, send us forth as missionaries of the light. Before you go, Holy Father, send us to spread the light of Jesus. Wherever the light of Jesus shines, you and the Filipino people will always be united. Mabuhay, Santo Padre! Mabuhay si Kristo! Let the light of Christ shine!
(from Vatican Radio)…